Chapter 15: Second-stage Martial Apprentice

Time flies.

Gu Chen and a few other brothers need to return to the Warrior Camp to continue evening training.

Logistics Soldiers, however, do not have that much training or tasks.

Only the next day will they be allowed to continue heading into the mountains to hunt wild beasts and tidy up miscellaneous items.

They now only need to tidy up the campsite, then they can return to their own lodgings to rest.

The Logistics Camp is not very large; each hut can accommodate ten Logistics Soldiers.

To Gu Han, it felt like returning to the dormitory of his high school days in his original world.

Ma Tie and the others returned to their quarters, but Gu Han, knife in hand, headed straight for the wilderness.

Although it is now dark, years of habit have ingrained his biological clock, making it impossible for Gu Han to fall asleep this early.

Rather than go back and chat with Ma Tie and the others, he might as well put in some effort and head out again to hunt some game.

Before that, Gu Han first glanced at his status panel.

Host: Gu Han

Cultivation: Second-stage Martial Apprentice

Qi Blood: 87 (Second-stage Martial Apprentice Qi Blood range: 50–200)

Strength: 85 (Second-stage Martial Apprentice Strength range: 20–50)

Defense: 24 (Second-stage Martial Apprentice Defense range: 20–50)

Speed: 75 (Second-stage Martial Apprentice Speed range: 20–50)

Spirit: 20 (Second-stage Martial Apprentice Spirit range: 20–30)

Technique: Qi Drawing Technique

Martial Skill: Blazing Fist (slightly accomplished)

"If we only talk about strength, an ordinary Second-stage Martial Apprentice is no match for me."

But seeing his obvious deficiencies in defense and spirit, Gu Han unconsciously furrowed his brow.

The wolves and rabbits he had slain, though, had greatly increased his Qi Blood, strength, and speed.

But they gave him no benefit whatsoever in defense or spirit.

If it weren't for having reached the Second-stage Martial Apprentice level, his defense and spirit attributes would not have grown together.

His current defense and spirit are probably still stuck at the bottom tier of a First-stage Martial Apprentice.

"In this world, it seems rare to hear of cultivators who specialize in spirit or in spellcraft."

Gu Han gazed thoughtfully at his spirit value, which stood at a high 20.

"If everyone's spirit is a shortcoming, then this spirit attribute seems rather useless."

But if that were the case, the system would have no need to list the spirit attribute at all.

Gu Han speculated that perhaps only at a certain stage would the importance of the spirit attribute become apparent.

"Let's see if there's any wild beast that can boost the spirit attribute."

Gu Han placed the freshly poisoned dagger against his thigh, knife in hand, and wandered through the forest.

His speed value had already surpassed that of a Second-stage Martial Apprentice, so he no longer needed to set traps and wait like before.

Gu Han could now take the initiative and attack!

As long as he didn't stray too far from the Military Camp and didn't encounter overly powerful beasts, his life would not be threatened.

Happy times are always fleeting.

Two hours passed in the blink of an eye.

"Fortunately I prepared several snakeskin bags beforehand; otherwise I might not have been able to fit all these beasts."

Gu Han dragged four bulging snakeskin bags toward the camp.

Tonight's effort pushed his Qi Blood up to 125!

His other attributes also saw great increases!

However, compared to his attack and speed attributes, his spirit and defense each rose by only two points.

The defense attribute was earned only after painstaking effort—he had to kill a burrowing rat to barely gain it.

This burrowing rat was absolutely the toughest opponent Gu Han had faced all day.

Judging by the attributes absorbed, the burrowing rat was at most roughly equivalent to a First-stage Martial Apprentice.

But its claws and fangs were razor‑sharp; if not for Gu Han's quick speed, his small frame might well have been in danger.

The burrowing rat's scale armor was absurdly hard; even with Gu Han's strength comparable to a Third-stage Martial Apprentice, his blade could barely pierce its defense!

Those two spirit points, however, came from a poisonous snake.

That poisonous snake excelled at concealment, hidden in a bed of fallen leaves; even careful observation made it hard to detect.

Moreover, the snake's strike speed was extremely fast; if it were anyone else, a moment's inattention would likely result in being bitten.

And given the potency of its venom, a single bite could easily kill a Second-stage Martial Apprentice.

Gu Han guessed that perhaps because the toxin counts as a nerve‑based attack, the absorbed attribute ended up being spirit.

Unfortunately, both the burrowing rat and the deadly poisonous snake are exceedingly rare.

Gu Han had encountered them only this once, so he could only temporarily give up deliberately seeking them out.

Although he had slain many other beasts, not all of them provided Qi Blood.

Thus Gu Han still has a long way to go before reaching Third-stage Martial Apprentice.

But Gu Han is patient; after all, he still has to stay half a year on the frontier, so he has plenty of time.

When Gu Han returned to the camp, most Logistics Soldiers were gathered together either by hometown or in small squads, chatting away.

By contrast, the Warrior Camp far off blazed with lights, and the shouts of training rang hot and fervent.

Compared with the scene of various houses discussing in the Logistics Camp, it forms a stark contrast.

This also shows the difference in attitude toward martial training between Combat Soldiers and Logistics Soldiers.

The Logistics Camp area where the Firekeepers cook had long been cleaned up.

Only the Veteran Firekeepers on night watch, making sure no fire broke out at night, remained here.

When he saw Gu Han approaching, he immediately frowned and reluctantly stood up.

There's still some leftover rice in the pot; if you're hungry, heat it up yourself.

Although he didn't want to cook for Gu Han, he also had to stay by Gu Han's side; otherwise, if a fire broke out, it would be his responsibility.

Gu Han originally wanted to refuse, but his stomach growled against his will.

Although he had eaten his fill for dinner, two hours of hunting still left him starving.

Alright, please tidy up these things, senior.

The initial assessment of the Logistics Camp has ended, but each Logistics Soldier must regularly go out to hunt beasts and submit them as provisions for the Military Camp.

Accordingly, the more game a Logistics Soldier turns in, the corresponding reward they can receive.

That Veteran Firekeeper stared in astonishment at Gu Han's retreating back and the snakeskin bag dropped on the ground.

Earlier, because the night was too dark, he only saw Gu Han walking over here and simply thought he was just hungry.

He didn't even see that Gu Han was dragging several snakeskin bags behind him.

Although Gu Han smelled of blood, compared to the mountain of beast meat piled up in the Firekeeper Camp, it was merely a trifle.

Veteran Firekeeper Li Qiang glanced at Gu Han, whose fire‑starting technique was practiced, confirmed he wouldn't burn down the Firekeeper Camp, then curiously opened the package on the ground, preparing to register it.

When he opened the first package, Li Qiang froze there.

A Burrowing Rat?

When was the last time anyone hunted a Burrowing Rat?

By comparison, the Short‑tailed Viper beside the Burrowing Rat is not that rare.

Occasionally a Logistics Soldier dies in the jaws of a Short‑tailed Viper, and sometimes a Logistics Soldier brings back a Short‑tailed Viper they've killed.

But the Burrowing Rat's defensive power is astonishing; Logistics Soldiers can hardly pierce its defenses, so naturally no one could bring back a hunted Burrowing Rat.